Existing law creates a civil cause of action against any person who knowingly uses the name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness of another person, without their consent, for specified purposes. When a photograph or likeness of an employee of the person using the photograph or likeness appearing in an advertisement or other publication is incidental and not essential to the purpose of the publication, existing law establishes a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence that failure to obtain the consent of an employee was not a knowing use of an employee’s photograph or likeness.

This bill would clarify that, for purposes of this cause of action, a voice or likeness includes a digital replica, defined to mean a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual in which the actual individual either did not actually perform or appear, or the actual individual did perform or appear, but the fundamental character of the performance or appearance has been materially altered. The bill would also remove the provisions establishing the rebuttable presumption when an employee’s likeness or photograph appears in an advertisement or other publication.

Existing law prohibits the false impersonation of another person in either their personal or official capacity with the intent to steal or defraud, as specified.

This bill would clarify that false impersonation includes the use of a digital replica with the intent to impersonate another for purposes of these and other criminal provisions.